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Zeus’s Fury and Lightning in Chiang Mai ~ Thailand

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Well, Holy Lightning Batman!

As I’m writing, there’s another thunderstorm passing over Chiang Mai in Thailand. It’s actually more of a lightning show than rain.
My wife warned me there was a storm approaching in the horizon. So I grabbed my camera and my tripod, set it in a dry spot, pointed the camera towards a clutter-free area, set the exposure and focus and started taking shots.

This particular one was so fast and bright that I just saw a flash and didn’t notice the lightning until it appeared on my screen.

Some of you asked me what settings I use to capture lightning, so I’ll share them with you. But first of all, don’t believe any Fauxtographer that claims they capture lightning by pressing the shutter at the “exact moment”. That’s impossible.
To capture lightning, you just need a lot of patience. Set your exposure to several seconds and keep taking shot after shot.

The settings I usually use at night are: 20s shutter speed, ISO 100 and f/8. I sometimes adjust and decrease the exposure when it’s a little too bright.

I think you are lucky :) Sometimes it is so hard predict where another strike will be.

Alex

Just found your site and blog, and absolutely love it! Some of the best pictures I have ever seen! I grew up in Florida where we have lighting for what seems like every day! Can’t wait to try this myself. Great job!

Wow such impressive shots. I never have the patience to catch such things myself, so it makes looking at others all the more amazing. I remember a friend talking about a rig that did some sort of light sensor attached to the shutter, but it seems like it would still be too slow.